Foreign Exchange

Far-flung Cultures Find Friendly Meeting Grounds

When Friederika Kaider moved to The Sovereign from her former apartment building six years ago, it was like moving to a different country. Or rather, to many different countries.

Kaider lives at The Sovereign, an Edgewater neighborhood apartment building whose close proximity to Loyola University Chicago helps bring the world to its doorstep. Tenants here represent more than 20 countries of origin. Many are Loyola students and faculty members.

"I lived on the Gold Coast prior to moving to The Sovereign, and it was very homogenous," Kaider said. "(Living at The Sovereign) it's more enriching. You live with these people every day, and multi-culturalism isn't just a theory, it's your daily experience. I think it's great."

And Kaider knows a thing or two about multi-culturalism. She's among the residents who add to the international flavor of the building, having moved to Chicago from her native Australia 10 years ago.

As a result of chance introductions in elevators and elsewhere in the building, Kaider has met residents from Russia, China, Ireland, Poland, Great Britain and New Zealand during her years at The Sovereign. "People hear my accent (and) they say, `Oh, where are you from?' " she said. "It's a very, very mixed community, a very richly diverse community."

Kaider isn't alone in savoring the benefits of diversity within an apartment community. Several apartment buildings in the Chicago area, notably those near world-renowned educational institutions like Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago, boast atmospheres that might be likened to the United Nations. With so many cultures and countries represented, these buildings are places to not only live, but also to learn.

"This type of environment is one of the most healthy environments possible," said Eric Robertson, executive vice president of Regents Park at Hyde Park, where the resident population reflects the melting pot that is Hyde Park itself. "It's an opportunity to expand your learning about other customs and cultures and how we all fit together in the world."

David Kump, property manager at The Park Evanston, near Northwestern University's Evanston campus, said he's among the many people there who have been enriched by exposure to the wide array of nationalities represented within the building.

"When we qualify people for the building, it's just a very interesting experience for me to see passport photos, IDs and applications from people from all over the world," Kump said. "It's been a tremendous learning experience for me."

Few Chicago-area apartment communities boast a wider mix of foreign-born residents or do more to bring them together than The Sovereign.

"It brings a vibrancy to the building that I feel wouldn't be here if everyone was from the United States," he said. "It's not unusual to go into the elevator and hear several different languages being spoken. (Foreign-born residents') attitudes are different, their perceptions of U.S. politics are different and their goals are different.

"They may not be looking at the corporate sector here, but at the corporate sector in Indonesia (for future employment). When you throw that all together, it creates an energy level that makes this a fascinating place."

Residents of The Sovereign have plenty of opportunities to learn from one another, because the management takes pains to bring them together. Restko says that when he was hired as property manager, he realized many foreign-born residents had no familiarity with American holidays. So The Sovereign celebrates most holidays with informal coffee-and-tea get-togethers in the lobby, and holds a buffet dinner with a DJ in its grand ballroom during the Christmas and Hanukkah season.

Kaider agrees that the social interaction is important in helping people from different cultures live together harmoniously. "The Sovereign makes an effort to bring us together," she said. "And without that effort you wouldn't have that ambience in the building."

Over the years, many friendships and even a few marriages have resulted from the international relations within the 285-unit, 70-year-old apartment building. "We had a woman from Russia who met a man from Jordan, and they've been married for years," Restko noted.

At the Park Evanston, Kump said, the resident mix includes people from Japan, Spain, Mexico, France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, China, India, Israel and Canada, many of them affiliated in some way with nearby Northwestern University.